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The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights Recognizes That 'if Man Is Not To Be Compelled To Have Recourse, As A Last Resort, To Rebellion Against Tyranny And Oppression', Human Rights Should Be Protected By The Rule Of Law. That Just Laws Which Uphold Human Rights Are The Necessary Foundation Of Peace And Security Would Be Denied Only By Closed Minds Which Interpret Peace As The Silence Of All Opposition And Security As The Assurance Of Their Own Power.

-Aung San Suu Kyi

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The Universal Declaration Of

Aung San Suu Kyi

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The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights Recognizes That 'if Man Is Not To Be Compelled To Have Recourse, As A Last Resort, To Rebellion Against Tyranny And Oppression', Human Rights Should Be Protected By The Rule Of Law. That Just Laws Which Uphold Human Rights Are The Necessary Foundation Of Peace And Security Would Be Denied Only By Closed Minds Which Interpret Peace As The Silence Of All Opposition And Security As The Assurance Of Their Own Power.

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One Prisoner Of Conscience Is One Too Many.

When You Feel Helpless, Help Someone.

Some Of The Best Indicators Of A Country Developing Along The Right Lines Are Healthy Mothers Giving Birth To Healthy Children Who Are Assured Of Good Care And A Sound Education That Will Enable Them To Face The Challenges Of A Changing World.

The Greatest Gift For An Individual Or A Nation... Was Abhaya, Fearlessness, Not Merely Bodily Courage But Absence Of Fear From The Mind.

To Be Forgotten, Is To Die A Little.

In A System Which Denies The Existence Of Basic Human Rights, Fear Tends To Be The Order Of The Day. The Only Real Prison Is Fear, And The Only Real Freedom Is Freedom From Fear. Never Let Fear Prevent You From Doing Right.

Leaders Of Political Parties Need To Keep In Contact With The People; That's What It's All About. If Violence Were To Erupt, I Am Fairly Confident That We Could Control Our People. Whether Or Not The Authorities Can Control Theirs Is Another Matter Altogether.

Burma Is Not Yet A Full-fledged Democracy. We Have Started Working On The Road To Full Democracy. We Have A Lot Of Things To Do In Order To Build A Democratic Structure And To Be Become A Full-fledged Democracy.

It Is Undeniably Easier To Ignore The Hardships Of Those Who Are Too Weak To Demand Their Rights Than To Respond Sensitively To Their Needs. To Care Is To Accept Responsibility, To Dare To Act In Accordance With The Dictum That The Ruler Is The Strength Of The Helpless.

Fires Of Suffering And Strife Are Raging Around The World.

A Most Insidious Form Of Fear Is That Which Masquerades As Common Sense Or Even Wisdom, Condemning As Foolish, Reckless, Insignificant Or Futile The Small, Daily Acts Of Courage Which Help To Preserve Man's Self-respect And Inherent Human Dignity.

While It Is Undeniable That Many Have Been Driven To Immorality And Crime By The Need To Survive, It Is Equally Evident That The Possession Of A Significant Surplus Of Material Goods Has Never Been A Guarantee Against Covetousness, Rapacity And The Infinite Variety Of Vice And Pain Which Spring From Such Passions. Indeed, It Could Be Argued That The Unrelenting Compulsion Of Those Who Already Have Much To Acquire Even More Has Generated Greater Injustice, Immorality And Wretchedness Than The Cumulative Effect Of The Struggles Of The Severely Underprivileged To Better Their Lot.

People Should Be Concerned About Installing A More Sensible, Responsible Government. What We [the Burmese] Need Is A Government That Is Accountable And Transparent, So That The People Know What It Is Doing And Can Judge For Themselves Whether Or Not They Like What Is Being Done.

One Should Mature Over 20 Years.

All Military Regimes Use Security As The Reason Why They Should Remain In Power. It's Nothing Original.

My Attitude Is, Do As Much As I Can While I'm Free. And If I'm Arrested I'll Still Do As Much As I Can.

I Think It's Time For The Army To Understand That Power Should Be Enshrined In The People If We Are To Be A Genuine Democracy And Not In Any Particular Institution Or Organisation.

My Opinion Is The Greatest Reward That Any Government Could Get Is The Approval Of The People. If The People Are Happy And The People Are At Peace And The Government Has Done Something For Them, That's The Greatest Reward I Think Any Government Could Hope For.

The Search For Scapegoats Is Essentially An Abnegation Of Responsibility: It Indicates An Inability To Assess Honestly And Intelligently The True Nature Of The Problems Which Lie At The Root Of Social And Economic Difficulties And A Lack Of Resolve In Grappling With Them.

We Do Need Great Change In Burma. We Are Trying To Build A New Society, A Society Where Basic Human Rights Are Respected, And Where Our People Enjoy All The Benefits Of Democratic Institutions.

I Could Listen To The Radio And I Had Access To Books From Time To Time. Not All The Time.

[t]here Is A Vast Difference In The Attitude Of A Man With A Gun In His Hand And That Of One Without A Gun In His Hand. When A Man Does Not Have A Gun In His Hand, Or A Woman For The Matter, He Or She Tries Harder To Use His Or Her Mind, Sense Of Compassion, And Intelligence To Work Out A Solution.

Burmese Authors And Artists Can Play The Role That Artists Everywhere Play. They Help To Mold The Outlook Of A Society - Not The Whole Outlook And They Are Not The Only Ones To Mold The Outlook Of Society, But They Have An Important Role To Play There. And I Think If They Take Up This Role Seriously And Link It To The Kind Of Changes Were Wish To Bring About In Our Country They Could Be A Tremendous Help.

In Burma, We Need To Improve Education In The Country - Not Only Primary Education, But Secondary And Tertiary Education. Our Education System Is Very Very Bad. But, Of Course, If You Look At Primary Education, We Have To Think In Terms Of Early Childhood Development That's Going Back To Before The Child Is Born - Making Sure The Mother Is Well Nourished And The Child Is Properly Nurtured.

Calamities That Are Not The Result Of Purely Natural Phenomena Usually Have Their Origins, Distant And Obscure Though They May Be, In Common Human Failings.

Investment That Only Goes To Enrich An Already Wealthy Elite Bent On Monopolizing Both Economic And Political Power Cannot Contribute Toward Égalité And Justice - The Foundation Stones For A Sound Democracy.

Despotic Governments Do Not Recognize The Precious Human Component Of The State, Seeing Its Citizens Only As A Faceless, Mindless -- And Helpless -- Mass To Be Manipulated At Will. It Is As Though People Were Incidental To A Nation Rather Than Its Very Life-blood.

You Should Never Let Your Fears Prevent You From Doing What You Know Is Right.

It Is The Love Of Ordinary People, In Burma, In Japan Or Anywhere Else In The World, For Justice And Peace And Freedom That Is Our Surest Defense Against The Forces Of Unreason And Extremism.

Solidarity Is A Beautiful Word Because It Means That You Reach Out To Those Who Are Different From You And Who Have To Cope With Different Circumstances Because We Recognize That We All Share The Same Human Needs And Same Values. It Is The Values That Count Most Of All. The Value Of Freedom Of Thought, The Value Of Democratic Practices, The Value Of Respect For Your Fellow Human Beings.

India And Burma Have Been Close Friends Since The Days We Were Struggling For Independence. And I'm A Great Admirer Of Mahatma Gandhi And Jawaharlal Nehru, And All Those Leaders Of India's Independence Movement. I Would Like To Believe The Aspirations And Hopes We Shared In The Past Will Continue To Bind Us In The Future.

Fundamental Violations Of Human Rights Always Lead To People Feeling Less And Less Human.

If I Advocate Cautious Optimism It Is Not Because I Do Not Have Faith In The Future But Because I Do Not Want To Encourage Blind Faith.

I'm Rather Inclined To Liking People.

Those Who Have To Face Persistent Political Persecution Become Highly Politicized. Our Lives Take On A Rhythm Different From Those Who, On Waking Up In The Morning, Do Not Need To Wonder Who Might Have Been Arrested During The Night And What Further Acts Of Blatant Injustice Might Be Committed Against Our People Later During The Day. Our Antennae Become Highly Sensitive To Vibrations Barely Noticed By Those Whose Everyday Existence Is Removed From Political Struggle.

It Is Not Easy For A People Conditioned By Fear Under The Iron Rule Of The Principle That Might Is Right To Free Themselves From The Enervating Miasma Of Fear. Yet Even Under The Most Crushing State Machinery Courage Rises Up Again And Again, For Fear Is Not The Natural State Of Civilized Man.

One Person Alone Can't Do Anything As Important As Bringing Genuine Democracy To A Country.

The [burmese] Government Appears To Be More Interested In Stamping Out Political Activity Than Drug Addiction. Very Few University Students On The Campus Could Get Away With Engaging In Political Activities, But They Seem To Be Able To Get Away With Taking Drugs. We Have Heard That It Is Very Easy To Obtain Drugs On The University Campuses.

University Students

Absolute Peace In Our World Is An Unattainable Goal. But It Is One Towards Which We Must Continue To Journey, Our Eyes Fixed On It As A Traveller In A Desert Fixes His Eyes On The One Guiding Star That Will Lead Him To Salvation.

The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights Recognizes That 'if Man Is Not To Be Compelled To Have Recourse, As A Last Resort, To Rebellion Against Tyranny And Oppression', Human Rights Should Be Protected By The Rule Of Law. That Just Laws Which Uphold Human Rights Are The Necessary Foundation Of Peace And Security Would Be Denied Only By Closed Minds Which Interpret Peace As The Silence Of All Opposition And Security As The Assurance Of Their Own Power.

The Main Aim Of The [political] Dialogue Should Be To Resolve The Problems Of The Nation, Not To Find Who Is The Winner And Who Is The Loser. That's Not What It's All About. It's To Try And Find An Answer That Is Acceptable To All Parties Concerned, Which Would Of Course Require Some Give And Take.

When The Nobel Committee Chose To Honor Me, The Road I Had Chosen Of My Own Free Will Became A Less Lonely Path To Follow.

I've Always Tried To Explain Democracy Is Not Perfect. But It Gives You A Chance To Shape Your Own Destiny.

I Don't Like To Be Called A Symbol. And I Don't Like To Be Called An Icon. I Will Just Say That I Have To Work Very, Very Hard. So I'd Rather Be Known As A Hard Worker. I Don't Think Symbols Do Much, Nor Icons.

At The Moment I Would Like To Emphasize The Need For Vocational Training, For Non-formal Education In Burma To Help All Those Young People Who Have Suffered From A Bad Education. They Have To Be Trained To Earn Their Living. They Have To Have Enough Education Vocational Training To Be Able To Set Up Respectable Lives For Themselves.

After All It Was My Father Who Founded The Burmese Army And I Do Have A Sense Of Warmth Towards The Burmese Army.

What Does Burma Have To Give The United States? We Can Give You The Opportunity To Engage With People Who Are Ready And Willing To Change A Society.

Religion Is About Increasing Peace And Harmony In The World. ... People Of All Different Religions Should Be Given The Opportunity To Pursue Good In Their Own Way.

People Ask Me About What Sacrifices I've Made. I Always Answer: I've Made No Sacrifices, I've Made Choices.

So, I Think That For The Authorities To Say Now That Calling For Sanctions Will Prevent Dialogue Is A Ploy To Stop Us From Supporting Sanctions. It Has To Be The Other Way Around: Dialogue First, Then We Stop Our Call For Sanctions, Because Sanctions Make People Understand That You Cannot Exercise Repression And At The Same Time Expect International Support.

A More Significant Phase Should Mean Serious Political Dialogue.

The Best Way To Deal With Aids Is Through Education. So We Need A Really Widespread Aids Education Program. In Fact, What We Need In Burma Is Education Of All Kinds - Political, Economic, And Medical. Aids Education Would Be Just Part Of A Whole Program For Education, Which Is So Badly Needed In Our Country.

Lasting Solutions Are Always Difficult To Come To. But They Will Have To Persevere. I've Been Repeating Ad Nauseam That We In Burma We Are Weak With Regard To The Culture Of Negotiated Compromises, That We Have To Develop The Ability To Achieve Such Compromises.

Once Serious Political Dialogue Has Begun, The International Community Can Assume That We Have Achieved Genuine Progress Along The Road To Real Democratisation.

It's Very Difficult To Have Any Faith In The Sincerity Of The Slorc About Stamping Out Drug Production If They Find It So Easy To Forgive A Drug Baron Whom At One Time They Said They Would Never, Never Forgive And Would Never, Never Regard As Anything But A Drug Runner. The Slorc Is Far More Aggressive In Its Attitude Toward The National League For Democracy Than Against Drug Traffickers.

If You Want To Bring An End To Long-standing Conflict, You Have To Be Prepared To Compromise. If Either Or Both Sides Insist On Getting Everything That They Want - That Is To Say 100 Percent Of Their Demands To Be Met, Then There Can Never Be A Settlement.

The Basis Of Democratic Freedom Is Freedom Of Speech.

Freedom Of Speech

Peace As A Goal Is An Ideal Which Will Not Be Contested By Any Government Or Nation, Not Even The Most Belligerent.

In General People Feel More Relaxed About Participating In Politics. They Aren't Frightened As They Used To Be.

We Must Make Democracy The Popular Creed...if We Should Fail To Do This, Our People Are Bound To Suffer... That Is What My Father Said. It Is The Reason Why I Am Participating In This Struggle.

After I Was Released, People Used To Keep Asking Me, 'what's It Like To Be Free? And It Was Very Difficult For Me To Answer. I'd Always Felt Free. As Far As My State Of Mind Was Concerned, I Didn't Feel Any Different...people Ask Me About What Sacrifices I've Made. I Always Answer: I've Made No Sacrifices, I've Made Choices.

There Have Been Many Claims That [u.s.] Sanctions Have Hurt Burma Economically, But I Did Not Agree With That Point Of View. If You Look At Reports By The Imf, For Example, They Make Quite Clear That The Economic Impact On Burma Has Not Been That Great. But I Think The Political Impact Has Been Very Great And That Has Helped Us In Our Struggle For Democracy.

If You Want To Bring An End To Long-standing Conflict, You Have To Be Prepared To Compromise.

War Is Not The Only Arena Where Peace Is Done To Death.

Every Government Must Consider The Security Of The Country. That Is Just Part Of The Responsibilities Of Any Government. But True Security Can Only Come Out Of Unity Within A Country Where There Are So Many Ethnic Nationalities.

It Cannot Be Doubted That In Most Countries Today Women, In Comparison To Men, Still Remain Underprivileged.

One Wants To Be Together With One's Family. That's What Families Are About.

It Is Essential To Institute A Legal Framework That Would Ensure Justice And Improve The Quality Of Life In Burma Immediately, Because The Greatest Suffering Among The People At The Moment Is Caused By Lack Of Justice And Lack Of The Rule Of Law.

Sometimes, 24 Hours Can Bring A Total Revolutionary Change.

All Right, Your Knees May Be Knocking But That Shouldn't Prevent You From Going Ahead And Doing What You Need To Do.

It Would Be Difficult To Dispel Ignorance Unless There Is Freedom To Pursue The Truth Unfettered By Fear.

If You Can Make People Understand Why Freedom Is So Important Through The Arts, That Would Be A Big Help.

How Can You Call It A Sacrifice When You Choose To Do Something Because You Believe In It?

Challenges Mean Opportunities As Well.

I Think More Women Should Be Involved In Politics For The Good Of The Human Race.

I Do Not Like To Encourage Personalized Politics, So We Would Not Like It To Be Thought That Just Because Certain Political Personalities Were Attacked, This Means The Situation Is Very Grave. The True Gravity Of The Situation Comes From The Fact That Ordinary Members Of The Nld Are Repressed All The Time. We Don't Want A Completely Paralyzed Political Organization, While A Select Few Leaders Are Protected By International Attention.

Human Rights And Rule Of Law Are Inseparably Connected.

Sometimes I Think That A Parody Of Democracy Could Be More Dangerous Than A Blatant Dictatorship, Because That Gives People An Opportunity To Avoid Doing Anything About It.

I Think, If You Have Enough Inner Resources, Then You Can Live In Isolation For Long Periods Of Time And Not Feel Diminished By It.

I've Never Thought Of Myself As Being Particularly Brave - I Used To Be Frightened Of The Dark When I Was Small. And I'm Not Very Good With Dead Rats And Things Like That. But I Face What Has To Be Faced And I Hope As Best As I'm Able.

I Wish People Wouldn't Think Of Me As A Saint - Unless They Agree With The Definition Of A Saint That A Saint's A Sinner Who Goes On Trying.

Taking Sides Cannot Bring Peace And Balance.

There Should Be No Political Prisoners In A Democratic Country.

As The Twentieth Century Draws To A Close It Has Become Obvious That Material Yardsticks Alone Cannot Serve As An Adequate Measure Of Human Well-being. Even As Basic An Issue As Poverty Has To Be Re-examined To Take Into Account The Psychological Sense Of Deprivation That Makes People Feel Poor.

We Achieve Everything By Our Efforts Alone. Our Fate Is Not Decided By An Almighty God. We Decide Our Own Fate By Our Actions. You Have To Gain Mystery Over Yourself. It Is Not A Matter Of Sitting Back And Accepting.

Because Of Rampant Inflation, Living Standards Have Been Dropping For The Great Majority Of The Population. The People Are Poorer Because Standards Of Health And Education Have Fallen. And Conditions In The Rural Areas Are Worse Off Than They Have Ever Been. So, You Cannot Equate The So-called Open-market Economy Adopted By The Slorc With Any Real Development That Benefits People.

The Value Systems Of Those With Access To Power And Of Those Far Removed From Such Access Cannot Be The Same. The Viewpoint Of The Privileged Is Unlike That Of The Underprivileged.

Underprivileged

Democracy, Like Liberty, Justice And Other Social And Political Rights, Is Not "given", It Is Earned Through Courage, Resolution And Sacrifice.

More People, Especially Young People, Are Realising That If They Want Change, They've Got To Go About It Themselves – They Can't Depend On A Particular Person, Ie Me, To Do All The Work. They Are Less Easy To Fool Than They Used To Be, They Now Know What's Going On All Over The World.

The Important Thing Is Burma Needs To End The Civil War And For This To Happen Both Sides Must Want To End The War.

My Top Priority Is For People To Understand That They Have The Power To Change Things Themselves.

The Nobel Peace Prize Opened Up A Door In My Heart.

Nobel Peace Prize

I Can Say With Absolute Confidence That The General Public Of Burma Would Be Very Little Affected, If At All, By Sanctions. So Far, The Kind Of Investments That Have Come In Have Benefited The Public Very Little Indeed. If You Have Been In Burma Long Enough, You Will Be Aware Of The Fact That A Small Elite Has Developed That Is Extremely Wealthy. Perhaps They Would Be Affected, But My Concern Is Not With Them But With The General Public.

Of Course I Regret Not Having Been Able To Spend Time With My Family.

Every Thought, Every Word, And Every Action That Adds To The Positive And The Wholesome Is A Contribution To Peace. Each And Every One Of Us Is Capable Of Making Such A Contribution.

I Think That Freedom Is Sometimes A State Of Mind. Sometimes, Mind You, But Not Always.

If You Feel Helpless, Go Help Someone.

There Is Nothing To Be Gained By Being Unnecessarily Nasty. Violence Begets Violence.

I Was Speaking To A Writer The Other Day And He Gave Me A Valuable Piece Of Advice. He Said That You May Get To Where You Want To Go Quicker Through Violence, But The Healing Process Takes Longer. Whereas If You Don't Use Violence, There Is Not Much Healing Necessary, So You Win In The Long Run.

We're Nowhere Near Democracy. I've Been Released, That's All.

There Is A Special Charm To Journeys Undertaken Before Daybreak In Hot Lands: The Air Is Soft And Cool And The Coming Of Dawn Reveals A Landscape Fresh From The Night Dew.

The History Of The World Shows That Peoples And Societies Do Not Have To Pass Through A Fixed Series Of Stages In The Course Of Development.

The Democracy Process Provides For Political And Social Change Without Violence.

In Societies Where Men Are Truly Confident Of Their Own Worth Women Are Not Merely "tolerated", They Are Valued.

I Felt That It Was My Duty Not To Senselessly Waste My Time. And Since I Didn't Want To Waste My Time, I Tried To Accomplish As Much As Possible.

Wasting My Time

There Is Nothing To Compare With The Courage Of Ordinary People Whose Names Are Unknown And Whose Sacrifices Pass Unnoticed. The Courage That Dares Without Recognition, Without The Protection Of Media Attention, Is A Courage That Humbles And Inspires And Reaffirms Our Faith In Humanity.

You May Not Think About Politics, But Politics Think About You.

I Was Surprised By The Response Of Young People Because There Is A Perception That Those Younger Than The 1988 Generation Are Not Interested In Politics.

As I Travel Through My Country, People Often Ask Me How It Feels To Have Been Imprisoned In My Home -first For Six Years, Then For 19 Months. How Could I Stand The Separation From Family And Friends? It Is Ironic, I Say, That In An Authoritarian State It Is Only The Prisoner Of Conscience Who Is Genuinely Free. Yes, We Have Given Up Our Right To A Normal Life. But We Have Stayed True To That Most Precious Part Of Our Humanity-our Conscience.

I Learned To Work On A Computer Years Before I Was Placed Under House Arrest. Fortunately I Had Two Laptops When I Was Under House Arrest - One An Apple And One A Different Operating System. I Was Very Proud Of That Because I Know How To Use Both Systems.

The Quintessential Revolution Is That Of Spirit. Without This, The Forces Which Produce The Inequalities Of The Old Order Will Continue To Operate.

We Want To Empower Our People; We Want To Strengthen Them; We Want To Provide Them With The Kind Of Qualifications That Will Enable Them To Build Up Their Own Country Themselves.

A Revolution Simply Means Great Change, Significant Change, And That's How I'm Defining It - Great Change For The Better, Brought About Through Non-violent Means.

Significant Change

It Is Man's Vision Of A World Fit For Rational, Civilized Humanity Which Leads Him To Dare And To Suffer To Build Societies Free From Want And Fear. Concepts Such As Truth, Justice And Compassion Cannot Be Dismissed As Trite When These Are Often The Only Bulwarks Which Stand Against Ruthless Power.

Peace, Development, And Justice Are All Connected To Each Other. We Cannot Talk About Economic Development Without Talking About Peace. How Can We Expect Economic Development In A Battlefield?

I Am Not Unaware Of The Saying That More Tears Have Been Shed Over Wishes Granted Than Wishes Denied.

As We Strive To Teach Others We Must Have The Humility To Acknowledge That We Too Still Have Much To Learn.

I Don't Think Of Myself As Unbreakable. Perhaps I'm Just Rather Flexible And Adaptable.

I Think One Must Take Responsibility For One's Actions And One's Decisions. But One Should Never Take -- One Should Never Assume That Everything That Happens For The Good Is Achieved By One's Self Alone.

If Suffering Were An Unavoidable Part Of Our Existence, We Should Try To Alleviate It As Far As Possible In Practical, Earthly Ways.

I Do Not Hold To Non-violence For Moral Reasons, But For Political And Practical Reasons.

If You Look At The Democratic Process As A Game Of Chess, There Have To Be Many, Many Moves Before You Get To Checkmate. And Simply Because You Do Not Make Any Checkmate In Three Moves Does Not Mean It's Stalemate. There's A Vast Difference Between No Checkmate And Stalemate. This Is What The Democratic Process Is Like.

I Only Used A Cell Phone For The First Time After I Was Released. I Had Difficulty Coping With It Because It Seemed So Small And Insubstantial.

If You Want Democracy, You Have Got To Be Prepared To Accept The Responsibilities Of Democracy. The People Have To Take Part. They Have To Understand That They Have The Power To Move Things, And They Must Really Commit Themselves To Change If They Want It.

The Peace Of Our World Is Indivisible. As Long As Negative Forces Are Getting The Better Of Positive Forces Anywhere, We Are All At Risk.

Please Use Your Freedom To Promote Ours.

I Don't Believe In Professional Dissidents. I Think It's Just A Phase, Like Adolescence.

That's Not How Politics Works - Sometimes Things Move In A Rather Imperceptible Way. There Are No Fireworks, And Then Comes A Time When Change Comes Unexpectedly. Sometimes Change Comes With A Lot Of Fireworks, But Not Always.

There Are Those Who Argue That The Concept Of Human Rights Is Not Applicable To All Cultures. We In The National League For Democracy Believe That Human Rights Are Of Universal Relevance. But Even Those Who Do Not Believe In Human Rights Must Certainly Agree That The Rule Of Law Is Most Important. Without The Rule Of Law There Can Be No Peace.

The Struggle For Democracy And Human Rights In Burma Is A Struggle For Life And Dignity. It Is A Struggle That Encompasses Our Political, Social And Economic Aspirations.

I Don't Understand Why People Say That I Am Full Of Courage. I Feel Terribly Nervous.

I Don't Think You Can Work On Feelings In Politics, Apart From Anything Else, Political Change Can Come Very Unexpectedly, Sometimes Overnight When You Least Expect It.

With The Right Kind Of Institutions, Starting With The Rule Of Law, Burma Could Progress Very Quickly.

I Think Sometimes If You Are Alone, You Are Freer Because Your Time Is Your Own.

Fear Is Not The Natural State Of Civilized People.

Basic Human Rights

I Was A Prisoner, But I Always Felt Free Because I Was Not Frightened So For Me Real Freedom Is Freedom From Fear.

It Is His Capacity For Self-improvement And Self-redemption Which Most Distinguishes Man From The Mere Brute.

People Need Security Of The Mind. Why Do They Want Democracy? Because It Can Give Them Freedom And Security In A Balanced Way.

Young People Drift Away From Society Because, In Many Cases, They Have No Hope Or Goals. So, Hope Will Have To Be Given To The Young.

Each Man Has In Him The Potential To Realize The Truth Through His Own Will And Endeavour And To Help Others To Realize It.

My Attitude To Peace Is Rather Based On The Burmese Definition Of Peace - It Really Means Removing All The Negative Factors That Destroy Peace In This World. So Peace Does Not Mean Just Putting An End To Violence Or To War, But To All Other Factors That Threaten Peace, Such As Discrimination, Such As Inequality, Poverty.

In Burma, We Have Only About Four Percent Of The People In Our Country Who Are (college) Graduates. So Can We Not Value The Majority? No, We Must. If We Just Value The Graduates, Then Does That Mean Our People Are Not Valuable? I Don't Believe That. What Is Important Is We Need Right People In Right Positions.

There Is A Time To Be Quiet And A Time To Talk.

I've Always Said That The More Coordinated The Efforts Of The International Community Are, The Better It Will Be For Democracy In Burma.

It Is Often In The Name Of Cultural Integrity As Well As Social Stability And National Security That Democratic Reforms Based On Human Rights Are Resisted By Authoritarian Governments.

It Is Not Power That Corrupts But Fear.

We Have Been Making Constant Efforts, All The Time, To Start Dialogue With The Slorc, But You Know It Takes Two. We Don't Want A Monologue. We Would Like A Substantive Political Dialogue Among The Slorc, Political Leaders Including Myself, And Leaders Of Ethnic Groups-exactly As Stipulated In The U.n. General Assembly Resolution On Burma.

War Is Not The Only Arena Where Peace Is Done To Death. Wherever Suffering Is Ignored, There Will Be The Seeds Of Conflict, For Suffering Degrades And Embitters And Enrages.

I've Always Said There's No Hope Without Endeavor. Hope Has No Meaning Unless We Are Prepared To Work To Realize Our Hopes And Dreams But In Order To That We Do Need To Have Friends. We Need Those Who Believe In Us. Friends Are Those Who Believe In Us And Who Want To Help Us Whatever It Is That We Are Trying To Achieve.

When You Think Of Buddhism, You're Likely To Think Of Peace And Tranquility.

We Have To Choose Between Dialogue And Utter Devastation.

Sometimes I Didn't Even Have Enough Money To Eat. I Became So Weak From Malnourishment That My Hair Fell Out, And I Couldn't Get Out Of Bed.

There Is No Hope Without Endeavor.

When We Think Of The State Of The Economy, We Are Not Thinking In Terms Of Money Flow. We Are Thinking In Terms Of The Effect On Everyday Lives Of People.

The Last Six Years Afforded Me Much Time And Food For Thought. I Came To The Conclusion That The Human Race Is Not Divided Into Two Opposing Camps Of Good And Evil. It Is Made Up Of Those Who Are Capable Of Learning And Those Who Are Incapable Of Doing So.

I Was Given Some Harry Potter Books By A Young Friend. I Wanted To Know Why Young People Liked It So Much. And I Noted That There Were Some Values In Harry Potter That Are Common To Many Books That Are Popular All Over The World. In The End, I Think People Prefer The Good To Win, Rather Than The Bad.

It Is Part Of The Unceasing Human Endeavor To Prove That The Spirit Of Man Can Transcend The Flaws Of His Own Nature.

You Have A Great Many Things To Do When You Are Under House Arrest. On The One Hand, It Is More Comfortable Than Sitting In Prison; On The Other Hand, You Have To Look After A Household, Which Is Strenuous Under Such Circumstances.

There Can Be No Civil Peace Without The Rule Of Law.

Where There Is No Justice There Can Be No Secure Peace.

If The Restrictions On The Work Of My Party And On Me Personally Are Not Removed In The Very, Very Near Future - That Is In A Matter Of Days - I Think The United States Should Start Thinking Seriously Of Sanctions. This Is Really About As Bad As It Has Ever Been.

I Have Been Arrested Time And Time Again, And My Colleagues, Too. I Cannot Guarantee That I'll Not Be Arrested Again. But It's Not Something That Weighs On My Mind. I'll Do What I Can While I'm Free. If They Arrest Me Again, I'll Do What I Can While I'm Under Arrest.

Guarantees That

It Is Incorrect To Say There Have Been No Reforms At All In Burma; There Have Of Course Been Reforms, But We Still Need To Do More For The People. To Become A Democratic Society We Have To Continually Be Reforming.

I Always Say That One Has No Right To Hope Without Endeavor.

Burma Wants To Have Good Relations With Our Neighboring Countries, China And India. I Do Believe The United States Itself Wants To Live In Harmony With China And India. That's Why We Have To Lay Down Political Policies That Are Fair For Everyone.

I Look Upon Myself As A Politician. That Isn't A Dirty Word.

The French Say That To Part Is To Die A Little. To Be Forgotten Too Is To Die A Little. It Is To Lose Some Of The Links That Anchor Us To The Rest Of Humanity.

Even If You Feel Fear, You Still Have To Go Ahead And Do What You Believe In.

We Must Contemplate What The Meaning Of Being "educated" Is. Some People Think A Person With Plenty Of Degrees Is An Educated One. But I Believe A Person Who Can Judge A Situation Correctly And Make Timely Decisions Is More Important.

I Haven't Heard Any Music On The Bbc World Service In A Long Time. Maybe I'm Listening At The Wrong Times. But Not One Single Piece Of Music.

The Education And Empowerment Of Women Throughout The World Cannot Fail To Result In A More Caring, Tolerant, Just And Peaceful Life For All.

Human Beings The World Over Need Freedom And Security That They May Be Able To Realize Their Full Potential.

It's Good To Know That The People Of Different Countries Are Really Concerned And Involved In The Movement To Help Burma. I Think In Some Ways It's Better To Have The People Of The World On Your Side Than The Governments Of The World, Even If Governments Can Be More Effective In Certain Directions.

Maybe It Is Something To Do With Age, But I Have Become Fonder Of Poetry Than Of Prose.

The Important Thing Is Fear Should Not Control Your Actions. It Should Not Dictate What You Do.

Human Beings Want To Be Free And However Long They May Agree To Stay Locked Up, To Stay Oppressed, There Will Come A Time When They Say 'that's It.' Suddenly They Find Themselves Doing Something That They Never Would Have Thought They Would Be Doing, Simply Because Of The Human Instinct That Makes Them Turn Their Face Towards Freedom.

Natural Instinct

Fear Is A Habit; I Am Not Afraid.

There's A Certain Age When Your Height Stops Growing And You Cannot Change That. This Sort Of Body Growth Cannot Be Fixed. But There Are Many Things That Can Be Changed. You Might Have A Small Body Structure But There Are Opportunities To Make Yourself Very Fit And Healthy. So We'll Have To Work Hard In Many Aspects.

I've Always Been Strongly On The Side Of Non-violence. Also, I Think That If You Use The Wrong Means, The Ends Themselves Get Distorted.

Part Of Our Struggle Is To Make The International Community Understand That We Are A Poor Country Not Because There Is An Insufficiency Of Resources And Investment, But Because We Are Deprived Of The Basic Institutions And Practices That Make For Good Government.

I Feel That The Bbc World Service Is Not As Versatile As It Used To Be - Or Perhaps I'm Not Listening At The Right Times.

As You Look At Me And Listen To Me, Please Remember The Often Repeated Truth That One Prisoner Of Conscience Is One Too Many.

What I Have Experienced Is Nothing Compared To What Political Prisoners In Prisons Suffer.

I'm Not The Only One Working For Democracy In Burma - There Are So Many People Who Have Worked For It Because They Believe That This Is The Only Way We Can Maintain The Dignity Of Our People.

To View The Opposition As Dangerous Is To Misunderstand The Basic Concepts Of Democracy. To Oppress The Opposition Is To Assault The Very Foundation Of Democracy.

If Ideas And Beliefs Are To Be Denied Validity Outside The Geographical And Cultural Bounds Of Their Origin, Buddhism Would Be Confined To North India, Christianity To A Narrow Tract In The Middle East And Islam To Arabia.

In Burma, Under The Present Constitution, The Army Can Always Take Over All Parts Of Government If They Think This Is Necessary. So Until The Army Comes Out Clearly And Consistently In Support Of The Democratic Process We Cannot Say That It's Irreversible. But I Don't Think We Need Fear A Reversal Too Much Either.

I Worry That Even Those Who Want To Reform Are Not Quite Sure How To Go About It. There Is So Much To Be Done.

In Terms Of The History Of A Far Reaching Movement, 20 Years Is Not That Long.

I Don't Want Burma To Be A Basket Case Forever.

Saints, It Has Been Said, Are The Sinners Who Go On Trying. So Free Men And Women Are The Oppressed Who Go On Trying And Who In The Process Make Themselves Fit To Bear The Responsibilities And Uphold The Disciplines Which Will Maintain A Free Society.

I Don't Seem To Have Time To Breathe. Everything's Happening So Quickly, And So Much Is Happening All The Time.

The Judiciary Must Be Strengthened And Released From Political Interference.

Human Rights Must Be Protected By The Rule Of Law, And There Can Never Be Occasions Where Human Rights Can Be Neglected Or Ignored Or The Rule Of Law Set Aside.

We Must All Work Together If We Are All To Live Together In Unity And Harmony.

Working Together

As Long As There Is No Law In Burma, Any Individual Here Can Be Arrested At Any Time.

When I Was In London A Kachin Youth Criticized Me For Not Condemning The Burmese Military For Their Offensive In Kachin State. I Answered "condemnation Is Not The Solution." We Want To Build Reconciliation, Not Condemnation.

I Think There's A Need For The Participation Of The Military For The Stability Of The Transformation Period Of Burma. If The Military And The People Do Unite Together For The Sake Of Our Country, We Can Reach The Development Of Our Country In A Very Short Time.

Burma Is Located Between China, India, And South East Asia. So It Is Quite Natural That A Country Wanting Diplomatic Relations With Our Country Would Pay Attention To Who Our Regional Neighbors Are. It Is Not At All Fair To Ask A Country To Build Relations With Burma But Not Take Into Account The Situation In China. There Is No Way To Think That Taking The Chinese Situation Into Consideration Shows A Disregard For Burma.

Foreign Investors Will Not Come And Do Things Without Any Returns For Themselves. And We Don't Expect Them To Come Work For Us Free. But The Local Population Should Benefit Rightfully. The Locals Should Benefit Just A Little More Than The Companies.

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Norman Parkinson

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